The two-day Conference on Sustaining Taiwan's Economic Development is scheduled to open today amid sharp disagreements, after a preliminary meeting yesterday decided that the conference would not discuss two key cross-strait economic liberalization measures.
The Mainland Affairs Council, which presided over yesterday's meeting, said that a further loosening of restrictions on cross-strait direct cargo and passenger charter flights and a relaxation of the 40 percent China-bound investment cap for Taiwanese businesses would not be on the conference's agenda.
Those measures are supported by business groups, the pan-blue camp and some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) moderates, but opposed by others in the pan-green camp.
"Opinions on what to do about the 40 percent China-bound investment cap were too divided ... and [the conference] would not have been able to reach a unanimous conclusion on the issue," the council said in a press statement explaining the decision.
The decision came after vehement opposition to the two measures from Taiwan Solidarity Union legislators and a number of academics and former presidential aides.
flexibility
But later yesterday, a Cabinet spokesman indicated that there might be some flexibility on whether the two issues would be discussed.
"We respect the decision [made at yesterday's meeting]. But, it does not mean that these two issues will definitely not be discussed during the conference, if members of the conference feel there is a need to do so," Cabinet Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (
Cheng made the remarks at a press conference following yesterday's weekly Cabinet meeting.
The two issues have become a focus ahead of the conference, because the majority of local business have been expecting that Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"Those decisions or agreements which will be made through the conference will become important references for the government to make and carry out its policies in the future," Cheng said. "However, we, as the government, cannot decide what to discuss and what to skip in the conference."
tuning out
Meanwhile, a recent survey shows that the public has been paying scant attention to the run-up to the conference and expects it to have little impact on their lives.
According to a survey conducted for the Taiwan Advocates think tank, 75 percent of respondents were unaware of the conference, while 61 percent thought that the event would be unlikely to revive the economy or enhance the nation's well-being. The survey polled 1,148 people in phone interviews on July 18 and July 19.
In addition to the cross-strait economic issues, tax issues relating to how the Statute for Upgrading Industries (
The Ministry of Finance has been standing firm against business groups' request for tax reductions, but some other controversial topics have been left unresolved pending the outcome of the conference.
tax incentives
One key issue is the finance ministry's demand that tax incentives granted to firms investing in automated equipment should also be overhauled if restrictions on taxing companies' undistributed surplus earnings are to be relaxed, as requested by business circles and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Minister of Finance Ho Chih-chin (
But at the same time, the ministry plans to make the tax incentives for automated equipment investments only applicable to key investment projects and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to avoid tax abuses, he said.
The finance ministry also urged revoking or restricting the five-year tax-exempt treatment granted to emerging, strategic industries. The economic affairs ministry has planned to slash two-thirds of the 305 tax-free items in exchange for the finance ministry's support, according to an Economic Daily News report yesterday.
The limited application is expected to affect semiconductor and flat-panel sectors.
Conference delegates are also expected to discuss the management of enterprises in which the government owns shares, how to effectively dispose of national assets, the privatization of state-run institutions, and how to boost usage efficiencies of state-owned land.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
RSS